Fashion and beauty photographer in London, UK.

Lighting People – my new book

Lighting People – my new book

Have you ever had a dream, a persistent, sneaky little dream that kept you company for years and just didn’t go away?

Mine was to write a book. I dreamt it so long, I started to feel comfortable around the idea that I wanted to write a book, so comfortable that I almost forgot that the whole plan was to actually write it, and not just dream about it. Then one day, in a coffee shop near my old house, I sent out an email. Several more emails turned into a meeting and that meeting turned into a proposal, which became a confirmation: I was going to be an author. *Insert star jumps here*

So I wrote. For 3 whole months I wrote everyday for at least 8 hours a day, pouring everything I had into a Word file that was slowly but easily growing into my biggest project yet (and that I backed up about 23 times a day like a maniac, yes). I had days where I wrote and days where I deleted. I had good days, where words just seemed to be rolling out of my fingers effortlessly, and bad days, where I felt like writing a book in my second language in such a short amount of time was like trying to climb Everest without shoes on.

I’m not going to lie. I wrote this book for you, but I wrote it for myself too. Lighting has captivated and influenced me in many ways long before I came across photography. Sunshine never fails to make me happy and energetic, and sunsets always manage to turn me into an hopeless romantic. Ceiling lights are often too ‘cold’ for my taste, so I always switch on small table lamps instead, and I’m SO, totally, judging restaurants by the warmth and coziness of their illumination. This says a thing or two about the power of light (and my peculiarity, most likely). In photography, we have the power to create light. That, to me, is the equivalent of having super-powers. This means you can decide how someone feels when they look at your images. Did you hear that?! Magic, pure and simple.

Yes, lighting is a broad topic and, let’s face it, it can get quite technical sometimes. For this reason, I structured ‘Lighting People’ exactly like a course, a comprehensive lighting manual that flows and grows from basic to more complex and creative. The book is divided in two main sections: Understanding Light and Working With Light. The first section will give you all the information you need on lighting equipment and standard lighting techniques, whilst the second is focused on working with light hands on in the studio in a more practical and creative way. The last part of the book is made of Resources, a section that includes a wide selection of images in different light matched with lighting diagrams, which can be used as reference for your shoots.

SECTION 2: WORKING WITH LIGHTChapter 5: Preparation – How to evaluate your client and their brief and plan a shoot.Chapter 6: Lighting Scenarios – Tips and tricks for doing the best whether you’re shooting portraits, fashion, beauty, events or more.Chapter 7: Getting Started – Choosing your lights and setting up your shoot.Chapter 8: Getting Creative – Use gels, projections, blur and other effects for more unusual images.

SECTION 3: RESOURCESLighting Setups: Hands-on examples of studio shootsLighting Reference Gallery: Hundreds featuring the same four models lit against a white and a dark background from a number of different angles; the most complete lighting reference available.

Like a book, I wanted ‘Lighting People’ to be open. In it, I shared all of my favourite techniques without reservations, because it’s pretty hard to have reservations when you pour all of yourself into something.

From the bottom of my heart, home of every single page of ‘Lighting People’, I hope that you will enjoy reading about and learning my favourite techniques, and that this book will convey over to you some of my ever-growing love for light. ★

**Lighting People can now be pre-ordered on Amazon and will be in all major UK book stores on 28 November 2016**